Nati Ramirez, co-owner of Don Ramon’s, recalls frequently hosting then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein at her family business. Senator Feinstein died Sept. 28, 2023, at the age of 90.
photo by Andrew D. on Yelp
Then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein poses with Don Ramon co-owner Nati Ramirez in 1983.
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The news evoked distant memories for Ramirez, who fondly recalls Feinstein visiting Don Ramon’s iconic SoMa location in the 1980s when Feinstein was serving as San Francisco’s mayor. Ramirez’s parents owned the restaurant at that time, but she was often in the building helping train and hire staff and pitching in on day-to-day tasks. She still remembers Feinstein’s go-to order from those days.
“She came to numerous fundraisers at Don Ramon’s. Feinstein and her husband [the late Richard Blum] always had a combination of a cheese enchilada and a chile relleno. … It was the No. 7 on our menu when we first opened … That was their favorite plate,” Ramirez told SFGATE.
Then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein poses with the Ramirez family at Don Ramon’s around 1983 when she was being recalled as mayor of San Francisco. Front row (L to R): Original Don Ramon owner Ramon Ramirez, owner Guadalupe Ramirez, Lee Ramirez, Lucy Ramirez, Nati Ramirez. Back row (L to R): Richard C. Blum, Dianne Feinstein and Jay Ramirez. Feinstein used to visit Don Ramon’s around the 1980s.
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In 1983, Feinstein faced a recall attempt. It was around that time that Ramirez met Feinstein for the first time. She told SFGATE she felt starstruck as the 5-foot-10-inch politician towered over her to give her a firm handshake. Months later, Feinstein and Blum returned to Don Ramon’s to celebrate the restaurant’s first anniversary; a mariachi band played for the occasion. The couple gifted the Ramirez family a tray with the city emblem.
“I remember her soft, strong handshake and that beautiful smile she had,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez went on to work in the child support division at the District Attorney’s office in 1985 and stayed involved with the DA’s office until 2014. That same year, she returned to her roots to help her sister Leonila “Lee” Rodriguez, the new restaurant owner, carry on the family business.
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While Don Ramon’s had to close its doors in SoMa in March, Ramirez feels a sense of gratitude that the former mayor of San Francisco supported her family at the restaurant’s original location at 225 11th St. She and her sister will move the family business to a new spot at Four Embarcadero Center later this year, and she’ll bring her fond memories of California’s late senator with her.
“I don’t think anybody will forget Feinstein,” Ramirez said. “It was an honor to have her [at Don Ramon’s].”
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